Just replaced the rear brake shoes with Brembos and drums from Napa on my 2000 Honda Civic and now they click when i brake. The clicking is consistent with the speed of the car and only clicks when applying the brakes. I've verified they were adjusted properly and all hardware is properly installed and swapped the drums side to side and they still click. It has to be something rotational being that it's consistent with car speed so I'm suspecting the drums? Looked around online and lots of cases but no clear cause. In one case, the clicking went away after driving for awhile and other cases pointed to poorly machined drums/ out of round. Anyone ever have the same issue?
Rear drum brakes clicking after replacement
- Thread starter racerviii
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I once had a similar issue with a new Carquest drum. It was not a distinct "click", but more like a muffled click. I exchanged it for another one and the problem was solved. The counter guy guessed that maybe the drum surface had a hard spot, bad metal, etc.????
Maybe do some hard forward/backward braking to see if your's wears in??
Maybe do some hard forward/backward braking to see if your's wears in??
New kit?
Yes, new hardware.
Update. Problem solved. So i swapped the old drums back on and no more clicking. I check the Napa drums carefully amd cannot see or feel any defects. Also forgot to mention that there was a loud whirling noise when braking at first and then the clicking started after 2 days. The whirling softened a bit when i swapped the drums side to side but the clicking didn't change at all. And these were Napa's premium line of drums. They're made in China. I also got a pair of their premium front rotors but have no problem with them.although the front rotors are made in USA. Not sure exactly how the clicking noise happens but guessing the drums are out of round and grabbing the shoes and shifting them against the backing plate. I doubt it would've ever gone away being how little drums wear. What a waste of time and energy. The clicking and whirling noises were driving me insane. Lesson learned. I'll be buying OEM brakes only now even with the price difference. Honda drums are $100 ea while Napa's are $36 but i went with Napa because they were in stock and i was in a rush to get them done. Well at least I'll be saving $72 after returning these and using the old drums as they practically have no wear at all and measure about the same as the new drums.
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Oh! I can answer this one.
I had the same problem on a Nissan after doing drums and shoes. I had purchased ACDelco drums for the record. It’s always hard when brand new parts cause a problem. I was ripping my hair out swapping parts to solve this. Actually found the solution in an old Ford Transit Connect TSB which I can’t seem to locate anymore.
The problem is that the factory machining pattern on many new drums causes the shoes to skip sideways and rhythmically click. Apparently it’s not something you can really perceive by examining the surface. It’s temporary and goes away after the drums wear a new pattern in.
Their solution was stepwise. First, swap left and right drums. If that does not work, next activate the parking brake a prescribed number of clicks and drive for a prescribed distance forwards and in reverse with prescribed cool down periods in between to wear a new patten into the drum. That’s what fixed it instantly for me so I stopped there. For the record it’s been 4 years now and the ACDelco drums have been perfect since. The third recommended step, if the above does not work, is to send the drums out for re-machining over the factory surface. Sorry I can’t locate the TSB anymore. Sounds like you arrived at the conclusion on your own. If you do want new drums in the future, these steps should help.
I had the same problem on a Nissan after doing drums and shoes. I had purchased ACDelco drums for the record. It’s always hard when brand new parts cause a problem. I was ripping my hair out swapping parts to solve this. Actually found the solution in an old Ford Transit Connect TSB which I can’t seem to locate anymore.
The problem is that the factory machining pattern on many new drums causes the shoes to skip sideways and rhythmically click. Apparently it’s not something you can really perceive by examining the surface. It’s temporary and goes away after the drums wear a new pattern in.
Their solution was stepwise. First, swap left and right drums. If that does not work, next activate the parking brake a prescribed number of clicks and drive for a prescribed distance forwards and in reverse with prescribed cool down periods in between to wear a new patten into the drum. That’s what fixed it instantly for me so I stopped there. For the record it’s been 4 years now and the ACDelco drums have been perfect since. The third recommended step, if the above does not work, is to send the drums out for re-machining over the factory surface. Sorry I can’t locate the TSB anymore. Sounds like you arrived at the conclusion on your own. If you do want new drums in the future, these steps should help.
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I remember in the real old days, when the auto supply store had their machine shop take a light skim cut on new drums/rotors before delivering them.
This is interesting. I would never have guess the pads would skip sideways. I wonder if OEM drums ever have the same issue but i guess probably not because there would be constant complaints.
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His info source was a Ford TSB.
Probably not real common though. First I've heard of it, but it makes sense when you think about it (but who would, really). Kudos to whoever figured it out at Ford. Lol
I meant I wonder if the Honda OEM drums would have the same issue.His info source was a Ford TSB.
Probably not real common though. First I've heard of it, but it makes sense when you think about it (but who would, really). Kudos to whoever figured it out at Ford. Lol
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Did you replace the springs and hardware? I'm thinking the shoes aren't quite seated
Yes. All new hardware and springs.
And honestly on a drum you could almost surely spin it up and run your hand in there with some emery cloth/sandpaper. You're just looking to blend out the machining pattern.
On a rotor, this would still probably work.
I had a 96 Civic, rear drum brakes exactly like yours. Had new hardware, new shoes, but had a vibration, similar to your clicking. Replaced the drums (even though they were brand new) with another set, no more issues. Honda's OEM drums are not anything special, just very expensive. I chose to go with Raybestos drums (cheap on amazon, shipped/sold by Amazon) the second time. I'd suggest you get new drums (Raybestos were nice) and slide them on, very easy to do. I bet that solves your problem, it did for me.
Putting my old drums back on solved the problem and they still measure below the max diameter so I'm keeping them on. What brand drums did you get the first time that gave you issues?
The first time was a no-name house brand from advance auto. Glad to hear the problem was fixed, exactly, it was the new (bad) drums. Thought that might be the answer, since our Civic has the same exact brake setup in the rear.
